Kurdish militias and activists on the ground said Saturday that Daesh used chemical attacks in late June against Kurdish forces and civilians in Iraq and northeastern Syria, Reuters reported.
Organizations investigating the attacks found liquid chemical agents were used against Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters manning a Mosul Dam checkpoint on either June 21 or 22. Though UK organizations Conflict Armament Research and Sahan Research said the chemicals used in the attack resembled a “chlorine chemical agent,” Reuters was unable to independently verify reports of poison gas attacks by Daesh.
Meanwhile, Syrian Kurdish YPG fighters claimed Daesh had used “makeshift chemical projectiles” on June 28 against YPG positions in the city of Hassakah and at YPG targets around Tel Brak, a town near Hassakah, Reuters reported.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which reports on the Syria conflict using activists on the ground, said it confirmed Daesh used a poison gas attack near Tel Brak on June 28.
Observatory activists, citing doctor’s testimony, said the chemical agents caused vomiting, eye-burn, and suffocation. None of the 12 affected YPG fighters died, as they were treated in a hospital soon after the attack. Activists also said they had received information on gas attacks in the city of Hassakeh, but gave no details.
Redur Xelil, a YPG spokesman, told Reuters that, though the type of chemical was not yet determined, June 28’s gas attack was the first Daesh attack of its kind against the YPG.
